Finding a way to easily replace outlets and switches has been an objective that others have attempted to resolve. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,743 granted to Robert T. Premoshis in 1959, a modular approach was taken to quickly perform that task. Subsequently, other similar approaches were also taken, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,341,981, 7,666,010 and 7,762,838, among many others, to quickly install and remove outlets and switches. These approaches, however, would only provide the consumer with quick access to the existing power distribution platform. In this present invention, however, the focus is on the fact that the end user will gain access to a broader supply capability offered by this newly presented platform. It will include many more options not presently made available by means of previously cited patents. All of this can be accomplished without a need for tools or to de-energize the line.
This patent seeks to address the non-universality problem where each country or region adopts its own outlet standard for power delivery. With this new invention, a platform is provided upon which the various standards can share a common base. In addition, a much wider range of AC and DC will be made available via the UEI and its unifying capability to make accessible most of the world's common electricity standards of AC as well as DC into a single standardized environment.
Worldwide, many methods are used in the generation and distribution of electricity. Hydropower, nuclear power facilities, and fossil based stations are located in remote places for obvious reasons such as availability, safety and health. Some can be hundreds of miles away from the substation that handles the energy distribution to residential or industrial places. For that reason, alternating current (AC) was found to be the best suited electrical supply format for a distribution approach because of its ability to be transmitted over very long lines without much loss in the transmission. Meanwhile, most equipment in use today require DC for their operation. To satisfy that majority, the power used, in most cases, needs to be converted from AC to DC.
Another aim of this patent is to offer a local delivery path for DC, either stored or generated from any of the renewable energy technology methods, to be delivered directly into buildings. This will obviate the need for the back and forth conversion presently being done to bring DC to most equipment in use. One major mistake associated with inverting all DC generation into AC is the fact that most of the renewable power generated is then transferred to the AC grid. This is done because the current electrical delivery infrastructure is setup to work only with AC. That limitation leaves the power consumers vulnerable and in the dark if anything happens to the AC power grid. Also, use of DC in a structure does offers the added advantage of having an alternate power stream that is isolated from the AC power grid. Separating the AC path from that of the DC allows the user, by way of the UEI platform, to retain a measure of power functionality in the event of a natural disaster or a criminal attack (cyber-attack) on the AC power grid.
Yet another aim is to seek to promote the need to convert all the various types of outlets and switches in use throughout the world into hook-on units that can work with the aforementioned UEI platform to facilitate uniting all the standards from a given country or region into a single environment. This will, as the previously mentioned patent, granted to Premoshis, dated from 1959, facilitate repairs and upgrades without the need to retain the services of a professional. Also, it will offer the added benefit that sets it apart from previous modularity approaches, namely its ability to broaden the choice of voltages, formats to be obtained from a single hub while promoting energy conservation. All of those benefits can be accomplished without having to turn off the circuit breaker for a particular line needlessly resetting other equipment connected on the same line. This will enable the ability to hot swap components when the base UEI platform is already in place and fully wired.
The conventional conversion of AC to DC procedure, among other components, involves the use of power transformers which are, for the most part, always connected to the line even when the equipment they are intended for are not connected as a load. Many battery operated electronic devices in this day and age such as cellular phones, tablets, toys and small devices of that category require daily recharging. Such devices are provided with a charger adapter which is plugged into the AC outlet to convert AC into the DC needed for their charging and operation. For the most part, those charging devices are left connected to the AC outlet electrical supply around the clock. Although a case could be made that the consumption for a single charging device amounts to an almost insignificant power use, but if each household, office building and industrial facility has multiples of such charging devices always connected to the power grid, it amounts to a very significant waste of power. This unnecessary power consumption is cumulatively a wasteful burden to the power grid contributing to pressure on energy providers to expand the capacity of the grid to accommodate this excessive and wasteful power usage. Lessening that waste will help promote energy conservation and save money for both the energy provider and the consumer while having a positive impact on the environment.
The abovementioned small devices constantly in need of being recharged have one thing in common, they all have an underlying need of a DC charger to operate. The standard in place requires the conversion of AC into DC at the level needed for their equipment. Some equipment only needs a 5V supply providing between 600 to 5000 mA for their operation. This low power level represents a constraint for most devices using Direct Current since the need may be much higher such as for a portable computer, which may require 12 VDC or more. To overcome that limitation, the output component in use by the proposed platform, whether a USB port, a cigarette lighter or whatever other future connectivity formats yet to come, will be set to have its own power capability built into it. The option can be made available that a switchable power capability may be built into a particular hook-on outlet unit as well.
Due to the increase in electrical energy demand, many countries are promoting the use of renewable power generation to help offset the carbon footprint associated with conventional electricity generation, which often uses fossil based fuel in their energy production. Renewable energy technological advances have facilitated the use of modern day technologies in even some of the remotest, rural and underdeveloped places on earth. Solar based energy generation, for that reason, has seen a dramatic increase in popularity. Many residential and industrial companies have invested in their own solar power generation to, among other benefits, help reduce cost and dependence or reliance solely on electric utility companies for its electricity. For the purpose of this patent, we are going to look at it from the perspective of integrating this UEI technology to broaden the choices associated with the power distribution channels. As such, the UEI platform will facilitate bypassing many of the problems already enumerated and show how this could be a platform providing a path towards energy conservation and independence.
Photovoltaic energy generation, which is the most widely used technology for power generation in solar panels, produces a DC voltage. Meanwhile, due to the adopted conventions, before its use, that voltage needs to be converted from DC to AC by means of power inverter units. That conversion takes place even in the case where the generated power is stored in large batteries prior to being used. As previously mentioned, most equipment in use, even when there is an AC plug coming directly from it, does have an internal power supply that converts the AC voltage back into DC. There again, that process has power loss associated with it.
One major aim of this invention is to seek to show how this Unifying Electrical Interface platform can be adapted to help benefit from power generated through DC supplies such as rooftop panels. Since this DC voltage does not have a long distance to travel before reaching its final destination, it can be regulated to be used directly with much of today's equipment. This near proximity or local generation of electricity negates the need to have AC as the only source of supply powering the entire home or business. In the case where the generated electricity is connected to the power grid, the operation of an alternate power generation system for AC is automatically suspended when there is an interruption external to the building. This is done to protect the service crew from being electrocuted by power originating from a building with independent energy generation. If some of the DC is channeled into a building, when the AC is interrupted, the building will retain a degree of electric power functionality.
With today's conventional standard in place, until such time where large capacity battery storage systems are perfected, made available to and is more readily accepted by the general public at affordable prices, it is still necessary to convert or invert all of the DC solar energy into AC. The power is fed into the supply grid to be used along with utility power station generated energy. The energy will be reclaimed at nightfall when the direct solar generation is no longer possible. That same buyback process is very useful during overcast days or in snowy regions where the production of electricity may be hindered. In instances such as those just enumerated, the conversion from DC to AC when the units are performing to their full or maximum potential, both the consumer who lacks storage capability and the power supplier benefit from the generated power mostly at times of high demand.
Another advantage made possible by the Unifying Electrical Interface (UEI) platform from this patent, is the provision to not only channel some of the alternately generated DC energy directly from the solar panels, or other sources, to the consumer but the ability to use this as a means of power conservation, while providing immunity in case of a natural disaster or any impact on the AC power grid either accidental or intentional. This method of using DC directly will bypass the back and forth conversion, —DC to AC and back to DC, —with all the loss associated with each step of the process. Use of this UEI connectivity and distribution platform will also, in the future, facilitate the manufacturing of equipment permitting them to be directly powered without the need for an internal AC to DC power supply conversion unit.
In some countries, for residential and some limited commercial use, the power lines entering the building is a Delta line, single phase 250 volts supply, having a center tap allowing to have two hot legs of 125 volts each with respect to the neutral point. If the standard is 125 volts, most equipment available for the market place are made to work with that available split voltage. Meanwhile, if the consumer owns equipment that only operate on 250V, the option to make use of it becomes very limited due to the lack of 250V hook-on outlets throughout the home. The capabilities of the UEI platform would help solve that problem in new construction or rehabilitation where the old system is replaced with new.
Going forward with today's existing distribution infrastructure, where a single option is delivered to an outlet port, presents the limiting factor in taking advantage of some of the higher voltage rated equipment. Making modifications to take advantage of such a higher voltage can be prohibitive due to the high cost of high power step-up transformers, or alternatively those associated in hiring a certified electrician to perform the conversion. That later cost of repair is at the root cause of some people choosing to live with a defective outlet that no longer offers a good mechanical and electrical connection for the plug connected to it. This poor contact may cause arching and could possibly be the cause of house fire or electrocution.
The ability to safely and easily install a hook-on outlet, that is intended to work with this UEI base interface, makes it possible for its final assembly to be performed without tools, by any responsible adult, provided they follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer. This effortlessness of installation makes it easy to replace hook-on outlets and switches as needed and for whatever purpose. In the future, the ease of alternating from one voltage level to another by just replacing the hook-on outlet illustrates another beneficial aspect enabled by the proposed platform. If equipment has a plug type G, as used in UK, there will be no need to modify the equipment by replacing the plug when all that is needed is to replace the hook-on outlet with the correct type for whatever country you are in, if the appropriate UEI wiring configuration is present. If the need is for DC, AC or any combination thereof, all the end user has to do is replace the hook-on outlet component with another one that will satisfy his or her needs.
The flexibility offered by the Unifying Electrical Interface platform is not limited only to hook-on outlets and supply types. The same platform with its ease of being user serviceable can be extended to switches as well. With this option, consumers will have a broad choice of replacing switches from one type to another as desired. That option is available and can safely be performed without the expense, inconvenience and disruption associated with the need to hire a professional electrician.
As already stated, the main aim of this invention is to leverage the versatility of the Unifying Electrical Interface (UEI) to extend the ease of adapting to different types of supplies and levels. Changing from AC 125V or 250V alternately as the need arises, or providing DC for various usages at different power levels, will be as simple as changing over to a new hook-on outlet if all of the UEI connectivity is already in place. This all can be achieved with the same confidence and effortlessness that exists today with inserting an AC plug into a wall outlet.
Of Significant mention is the UEI platform's flexibility to offer an avenue for energy conservation by eliminating loss due to power conversion and reducing the number of transformers left connected to the electrical supply source when not in use. Making use of this Unifying Electrical Interface (UEI) platform offers the possibility to expand the reach for greater DC use directly from the many power generation modes, such as solar, that are increasingly being made available to the general public. This would eliminate the need to first convert all of the DC power generated into AC to be sent to the outlets. From there to be used, that power will again be turned back into DC prior to being used by the power consuming device. It is very easy to see how this new platform can help in reducing the loss that is currently associated with the present platform, thus the path for energy conservation benefiting the environment and resulting in energy cost savings to the end user.